I was first attracted to this product by its small size, excellent light intensity, and price. When I received the package, right on the back was a safety disclaimer. Turns out this product is manufactured in China and the pain they use on it is lead based. More troubling was the fact that warning label advised the user to wear goggles and gloves when using the flashlight. When was the last time anyone had to use flashlights and gloves to use a flashlight. As the proverbial saying goes, you get what you pay for. I just didn't expect that such an simple product would be a detrimental health risk. 1 star

This is such an incredibly good product - the LED's are bright, the bulbs last forever, and the batteries on the ones I bought months ago haven't needed changing yet, even with daily use. The construction is excellent. It's a little hard to thread the loop of the strap through the pinhole-sized eyelet at the back of the flashlight cylinder, but that's the worst I can say about this. I paid $8 for these at another online store, and they were still worth it. At the price here, even better.

Once you have a few, you can find great uses for them:
- Outdoors, of course - camping or simply going for a walk
- In the garage or toolbox for finding stuff
- As emergency lights, tucked away accessibly in each room
- Personal flashlights - in your car, purse, camera bag
- Supplemental lighting for your camera if you take close-up pictures of nature or anything small (your built-in flash can't point that close to your lens)
- Carry them while bicycling - spare headlamp for your bike 5 stars

I bought both this 9-LED unit and one each of the "GIANT Light - Small Package" Flashlights; the 21-LED and 28-LED versions, both for $[...], right here on Amazon.com. side-by-side, the light put out by the 9-LED unit's embarrassing. Yes, the 9-LED unit is slimmer; the head is the same size as the barrel, essentially, so it'll slide conveniently into a space the size of a roll of quarters. But, when you pull it out and use it, if you're lucky, like some here, it will work. In my case, I have to keep unscrewing and screwing in the battery compartment lid to keep it on... and it *still* flickers off for no reason or if lightly jostled. Forget it.

The 21- and 28-LED units light up a dark closet like a floodlight. They're amazing. For 12 bucks, the 28-LED unit is an excellent deal. Since they're both the same size and price, I'd get it over the 21-LED unit. LEDs are power misers. And both units have been rock solid. And they come with a nifty little nylon velcro-closed belt case. 1 star

This review applies to the following 3 products (same item, just different color: jet black, gunmetal gray or cool blue):

Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Gunmetal Silver
Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Cool Blue
Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Jet Black

Most LED lights you find in stores now for this price use those exotic lithium "coin" type batteries, but not these little flashlights. These use regular AAA batteries (3 of them) and those are available just about anywhere, and you can even find rechargeable AAAs easily. So battery cost is low to negligible.

The price itself can't be beat at $2.99, but what are you getting?

The body itself is aluminum, not plastic. And that's good. The whole thing fits in your fist very comfortably, very light, yet feels nicely built, solid. Even tapping with your fingernails gives a solid tock instead of thin metal clink or plasticky clack.

The general shape is round, but with "ridges" so it should not roll much, even on a flat surface.

The trigger as at the rear end, and there is only one power setting. This makes it more like police-style tactical lights, but also makes it impossible to stand "up" on a flat surface for use as a temporary torch.

The endcap is NOT o-ring sealed so it's NOT waterproof, but tight enough to be water and splash resistant. Don't dive with it, but it should work in the rain well enough. And being so light even WITH batteries inside, it's virtually shockproof.

Open the endcap and you see a "battery holder" which slides out. You load the 3 AAA batteries into it (all clearly labeled). Slide the holder back in, seal the endcap, and you're in business!

The light is pretty darn bright, though a bit scattered. I also have a LED Maglite (which cost me $25, has a single 3-Watt Luxeon LED, uses 2 AA batteries) and this is almost comparable to that brightness. However, my Maglite (tm) has focusing controls, and energy management circuit inside, as well as a "torch mode". This little thing can't do any of that. But at 1/8th of the price, does it matter?

Yes, it's made in China. Don't expect miracles. You'll probably see a couple DOAs and the batteries they include are lousy generic alkalines. Replace with quality alkalines or even rechargeables soon to save even more money.

All in all, $2.99 for a flashlight is very good, and this flashlight can rival stuff costing five times as much, which makes it a definite bargain. 5 stars

I bought 8 of these to help out during the coming hurricaine season down here(Florida) and from what I see i think everything is gonna work out fine.Bright light, easy ergonomics and a great feel in your hand(it is only 3 inches long but the circumference is full in your fist and the batteries load like you were filling the chambers of a weapon .)So when the power goes off I believe the light from these little sawed-offs should fill the rooms;yes, the light is that strong.( I would suggest dumping the batteries provided and pick up duracell AAA wholesale.)Either way these flashlights seem like a great bargain for any season.And as tough as nails.(I like the silver gun metal color.It fits) 5 stars